NYSE takeover deal passes U.S. antitrust overseers

JacobBunge

U.S. antitrust authorities cleared the way for IntercontinentalExchange Inc.'s
ICE, -0.05%
planned takeover of NYSE Euronext
NYX, +0.61%
marking the first major regulatory hurdle passed in the mega-exchange deal.

The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice raised no objections to the proposed $8.2 billion purchase, according to a Monday statement from the exchange groups, which still must secure approval from many other authorities in the U.S. and Europe.

Little friction had been seen for the combination in the U.S., where Atlanta-based ICE operates futures markets for trading agricultural, energy and financial futures, beside NYSE Euronext's franchise in stock-trading and listings and options.

While both exchange companies offer U.S. futures linked to stock indexes, their markets combined are far smaller in terms of trading activity than similar equity-focused markets run by competitor CME Group Inc. (CME).

ICE said in a statement that the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, which requires companies to provide details of big merger deals to regulators, had expired Feb. 15 with no objection or examination launched by the FTC or DOJ. The waiting period must run out before deals can close.

The Justice Department in May 2011 ended ICE's prior pursuit of NYSE Euronext, a joint bid with Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) that proposed to divide the Big Board parent between its two rivals.

In that deal, ICE would have taken over NYSE Euronext's U.K. futures markets, and Nasdaq OMX would have acquired the stock- and options-trading divisions, but U.S. antitrust regulators objected to a potential monopoly in U.S. share listings and services posed by a combined Nasdaq-NYSE.

Last year, NYSE Euronext's agreed merger with German exchange group Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE, DBOEF) collapsed after the European Commission determined that the deal would have created a monopoly over financial futures traded in the region.

ICE's current takeover bid for NYSE Euronext, agreed between the two companies in December, still requires approvals and nonobjections from market regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.K. Financial Services Authority, as well as competition authorities in Europe.

The exchanges aim to spin off NYSE's European securities and derivatives markets in an effort to assuage any concerns among European lawmakers and regulators over the future of those markets under the enlarged entity, according to officials.

Shares of NYSE Euronext recently were down 0.4% at $37.43. ICE shares were down 0.4% at $155.78. The stocks are up 19% and 25%, respectively, this year.

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